1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to compact fire-fighting vehicle mountable to an emergency response fire truck.
2. Description of the Related Art
In response to the burning of a structure located on top of a hill having a driveway with a steep incline, it is oftentimes very difficult for emergency response fire-fighting vehicles (such as firefighting trucks) to drive up close to the fire for a variety of different reasons. Consequently, city and/or county ordinances place restrictions on emergency response vehicles from driving up driveways having a certain grade. In some instance, it is difficult for a fire truck to safely drive up a severe grade for fear that the fire truck may get stuck on the incline attempting to negotiate the steep grade. Likewise, the weight of the fire truck may cause immeasurable damage to the driveway causing unnecessary liability to the fire department.
Various disadvantages are encountered because the fire truck is prohibited from traveling up certain driveways. Some driveways leading up to a structure are long and set quite a distance off of the street. In this instance, when responding to a fire, the fire men and/or women (hereafter referred to as firemen) have to traverse quite a distance up the driveway carrying heavy firefighting equipment to the burning structure. If the driveway is long, this task can be cumbersome and exhaustive and may take the firemen a substantially long time. By the time the firemen arrive at the fire, they are fatigued and in need dire need of recuperation. For example, the typical fire hose carried on a fire truck is heavy and requires at least two firemen to drag the hose from the fire truck to the burning structure. When the distance traveled by the firemen is long, more time and energy is expended setting up to attack the fire that is necessary. In a fire, seconds could mean the difference between a salvage operation or a complete loss of the burning structure.
Accordingly, there is an exigent need for a mobile firefighting vehicle integrated with a fire truck that will allow firefighting personnel to rapidly traverse long driveways with their essential firefighting equipment to a remote burning structure. Another example where a remote fire-fighting vehicle would be instrumental to fighting a fire is the case in which the fire is located at a remote location from the street with no route large enough to support the width or weight of a fire truck, such as a narrow alley-way.
The mobile fire-fighting vehicle must be durable, yet portable enough to be disengagably transported by a fire truck that responds to a fire. This invention addresses this time-consuming need and the shortcomings of the prior art.